Improvement in ladies  dresses



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HARRIET JUDSON AND EMILY S. JUDSON, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN LADIES DRESSES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 139,677, dated June 10, 1873; application led l April 10, 1873.

To all whom. it may concern:

Be it known that we, Mrs. HAERIET JUD- soN and Miss EMILY S. JUDsoN, both of the city of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Ladies Dresses, of which the following is a specification:

It is the object ot' our invention to enable those dresses which are worn with an overskirt or basque to be converted at will, and without removal from the wearer, into walking-dresses for the street, or into house or evening dresses, with a trained skirt; and it consists in combining with the skirt a yoke provided with gathering-strings, as hereinafter described, by means of which the back or train portion of the skirt is rendered adj ustable to accomplish the required result.

Figure 1 represents our improvement when the dress is worn as a walking-dress, the'position of the skirt when worn en train being indicated by dotted lines. Fig. 2 represents the yoke and the portion ofthe skirt attached thereto, the yoke being extended for a dress en train. Fig. 3 shows the same with the yoke drawn up by the gathering-strings to shorten the skirt for walking.

The yoke A is attached at the top to a band, B, at the waist, and at the lower edge to the dress-skirt C C, which is made of suitable length for awalking-skirt, independently ofthe yoke, and gathered in the usual manner upon.

y the yoke. VThe fullness of the gathers should be confined mainly to the lower part .of the yoke, say to a space of six inches, or thereabout, between the points f f, leaving the remaining portion attached to the yoke, with little or no gathering. The yoke should be lined with suitable materia-l to insure strength, the outer fabric being the same as that ofthe dress. The yoke is of such length that when fully extended it will make the skirt of snit-` able length for a train. Two parallel shirrs are formed in the lower edges of the yoke, each receiving a cord or tape, d d, their ends being secured at the opposite extremities of the yoke at e e, forming draw-strings. When the free ends of these cords are drawn upon the yoke A is gathered up and contracted into a small compass, as shown in Fig. 3, elevating the back of the skirt to the position shown in Fig. 1. When worn, the cords dd 'are tied in front and are concealed by the belt or other portions of the costume. When it is desired to convert the dress into one with a trainfskirt it is effected by loosening the cords, when the weight ot' the skirt draws out the yoke to its fullest extent. By means of this construction a lady may adapt her dress to the occasion by the simplest effort, and even without attracting attention. y

We claim as our invention- A dress formed with the yoke A and gathering-strings d d, in combination with the skirt C C, substan tially` as and for the purposes set forth. Y

In witness whereof we have hereunto signed our names in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HARR-IET JUDSON. EMILY S. J UDSON. Witnesses:

S. O. BETTs, CHARLES N. JUDsoN. 

